The fall of Joe
by Kain R. Heinlein
Summary: The future of the Fatal Fury team is uncertain after Joe loses a championship match to a mysterious young man. Please remember that this is my 1st fic and positive criticism'll be appreciated.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I am not the owner of K.O.F. or any of its characters. They are property of Playmore co. Kai Harada and his manager are my creation.  
  
It was a cold night in Southtown. A beautiful woman sat on the Illusion Bar, apparently waiting for someone. She had long, red hair that went all the way down to her waist and green eyes. She had full lips, enhanced by a bright red lipstick. She wore a black tailleur with a very short skirt, which showed almost the complete extension of her fine, long legs. As she slowly took a sip from a wine glass, the man she was waiting for arrived. He was the famous Muay Thai champion, Joe Higashi. "Hey there, uh...", said Joe, trying to remember the woman's name . "Lena", she replied, with a smile. "Oh, yeah, right. So, what is this about again?", Joe asked . "Well, i'm the manager of the newest Muay Thai sensation: Kai Harada, maybe you've heard of him?", she answered. "Nope, never heard of him." "Well, he has been training a lot lately, and he now like to have a shot at your championship belt. How do you feel about that, Mr. Higashi?". Cocky as usual, Joe replied, "Sure! After all, the King of Fighters tournament is close and i need some trainin' anyways! Just say when and i'll be there, hottie!" "That's great, Mr. Higashi. I'll call you as soon as i figure out all of the details.". King, the owner of the Illusion Bar, approached him. "Hey, Joe, who was that?", she asked. "She's the manager of some guy who wants to fight me for the championship", Joe answered. "Really? You'd better take care, Joe ." "Nah, don't worry," Joe replied with an arrogant smile. "It's gonna be the easiest fight i've ever been on. See ya, King!", said Joe, leaving the bar. "Joe, Joe, Joe," King mumbled. "Never gonna change, are ya?". She gave a little smile before returning to work .  
  
2 weeks later, Joe received a call from Lena. "Mr. Higashi, Kai would like to fight you as soon as possible, maybe next month?", she asked. "Fine by me!" "Ok then, Mr. Higashi. I will book the Southtown Sports Arena for the match, unless you would like it to be somewhere else." "It don't matter", answered Joe. "The only thing that matters is the ass-whooping i'm going to give this guy!" "Umm... Fine then, Mr. Higashi. I'll see you next month."  
  
So, this is the first chapter. I hope you have found it interesting so far, and i thank you for reading it. 


	2. Abyss

The Southtown Sports Gymnasium is crowded. Almost the entire city is there, including the most powerful criminal in the whole city : Geese Howard, who is sitting on a private area surrounded by bodyguards. At the ringside, Joe's closest friends, Terry and Andy Bogard, along with Andy's girl, Mai Shiranui, are cheering up for him. In the audience, sitting in the front row, the Sakazaki family, as well as Robert Garcia and King, are cheering as well, holding little "Joe" flags. Lilly Kane, who had sneaked into the gymnasium without being noticed by her brother, Billy Kane, Geese Howard's right arm and bodyguard, held a big "Go Joe!" sign with lots of tiny red hearts drawn. The fight was just about to begin, and a man in the center of the ring took a microphone to announce the fighters. "Ladies and gentleman from Southtown, let's get ready to rumble!", he yelled into the microphone, and the whole arena erupted in cheers. "And now, please welcome the world Muay Thai champion... wearing the red trunks, Joe Higashi!". Every single Joe fan was there that night, supporting him. They were very excited when Joe came to the ring wearing a golden robe and the championship belt around his waist. "And now," continued the announcer, "wearing black trunks, the Japanese Panther, Kai Harada!". A few people got up and cheered as Kai came down from his locker room. Even Joe was impressed by him: He was almost 2,00 m tall and had a very built body. Sporting a black robe that covered his head, which was covered by long and thick black hair, he entered the ring. "Look at him," Joe thought, "He's just a kid. This'll be easier than i thought." Kai was young, indeed: he was 23 years old. But he had much more battle experience than Joe thought, which would be proven when the fight began. Both the contenders assumed their fighting stances as the bell rang and round 1 began. Joe grinned arrogantly at Kai, who remained serious. Joe threw several punches at Kai, who dodged all of them and gave Joe a stiff kick to the chest, throwing him back a bit. That did nothing to Joe's confidence, who attacked him with a couple of hurricanes. To Joe's amazement, Kai just extended out one of his arms and blocked them. "What a lousy champion!", Kai said. "Dash Crippler!", he shouted as he rushed towards Joe, launching a very powerful punch to his abdomen. "Combat Upper!", he once again shouted as he performed a similar motion to Yashiro and Robert's upper attacks, striking at Joe's face. Kai then jumped up and stomped Joe's abdomen, making him spit blood into the air. All the people were shocked at that violent strike. But Joe wasn't ready to give up: He got up and did his Tiger Kick, catching his opponent by surprise. All Kai did was let out an evil laughter as he shouted "Total Annihilation!" and unleashed several fury attacks at Joe, ending the combo with a deadly punch to the chin, throwing Joe unconscious onto the ropes. Kai laughed at Joe, who was lying on a small puddle of his own blood. The audience was shocked and disgusted by the man who had just humiliated and destroyed their idol. Terry, Andy, Mai and Blue Mary, who had arrived soon ago, invaded the ring. The paramedics came to take Joe. Terry and Andy glared at Kai, who simply gave them an evil grin and left the ring with the championship belt. Andy wanted to get revenge for his best friend right there, but Terry stopped him. "We gotta get to the hospital now", said Terry as he pulled his brother from the ring. The people hooted and threw things at Kai as he entered the locker room. Lilly Kane cried, and Mai was trying to calm her down. They left to the hospital and the gymnasium was soon empty. Surely no one would forget the horrible spectacle they had seen that evening.  
  
Ok! So that was the second chapter. Thanks for reading, and if you've liked it so far, i'll make sure the next chapter gets ready in no time. ( 


	3. That evil grin

Later that night, on the Southtown Memorial Hospital...  
  
Terry Bogard, Andy Bogard, Mai Shiranui and Blue Mary were sitting on the waiting room, expecting news from Joe. Mai was asleep on Andy's shoulder. Terry, between the four of the them, was the most worried.  
  
" What's wrong, Terry?" - Asked Mary.  
  
" This." - Terry said, taking an envelope out of his pocket. " The King  
of Fighters invitations are already being sent. I don't know what we are  
going to do without Joe, since Mai has already promised to the other  
girls she'd fight on the women team."  
  
"But i'm sure Joe will be back on his feet before the tournament."  
  
"Well... - Terry said, with a sigh. - You don't know Joe like me and Andy  
do."  
  
"What does that mean?"  
  
Terry said nothing. A doctor came into the waiting room.  
  
"Your friend is ready to see you, gentlemen. Two at a time, please."  
  
Terry called Andy and they went together into Joe's room. He was lying on a bed, with bandages around his head and body. As the Bogards entered the room, Joe slipped the covers all the way to his head.  
  
"Go away!" - Joe cried. " I'm a loser!"  
  
"No, you're not, Joe. - Said Terry. - You just got some bad luck, that's  
all. As soon as you're back on your feet, you'll show that guy."  
  
"I... I can't! Did you even see him fighting? He... He was incredible."  
  
"You are still better than him! Your mistake was underestimating him!" -  
Said Andy, sitting on a chair next to Joe.  
  
"I did not! I did my best, and it still wasn't enough. Goes to show he's  
the real champion and i'm just a stupid loser."  
  
"Stop it, Joe! Dammit! You know you're no loser! Look back at all the  
victories you had! Look at all of the K.O.F. tournaments you've been in!"  
  
"K.O.F... I never deserved to be on it anyway."  
  
"Yes, you have!" - Said Terry, getting back into the conversation. - "You  
have and you still do, Joe. This year, when we enter the tournament  
again, you'll..."  
  
"What? Is that some kind of joke? I am out of fighting, Terry...  
Forever."  
  
"You can't give up fighting because of that! - Shouted Terry, violently  
kicking the chair he was sitting on. - Dammit!"  
  
"Yes, i can!" - Joe shouted even louder. - "And now, get the hell out of  
here!"  
  
"Fine!"  
  
"Fine!"  
  
Terry slammed the door behind him. Andy came to calm him down.  
  
"Stop it, Terry! - He said. How could you be so mean to Joe?"  
  
"Didn't you hear what he just said? He wants to give up fighting because  
of that crappy little match! God, if i could..."  
  
"There is no point in worrying now. We must find a fourth integrant to  
our team if we want to be on this year's K.O.F."  
  
With that, they returned to the waiting room where Mai and Mary waited for them. The girls went into Joe's room to try and cheer him up, but it was of little use. They all left the hospital and went home. Andy and Terry still had to figure out their problem about finding a 4th member to the Fatal Fury team.  
  
The next day...  
  
Terry and Andy were talking to past allies, but every single person already had a team, were too busy or had stopped fighting. They were about to give up, when suddenly someone rang Terry Bogard's bell. As he opened the door, he was shocked: The man standing there was the same guy who had humiliated and brutalized their friend, making himself the new Muay Thai champion: Kai Harada. He had the same evil grin he had given Terry and Andy on his lips.  
  
Chapter 3 is finished! I'm not really sure about what i'll do next, but...( 


End file.
